Aviation Survival Technician 2 Joshua Carlson wanted to do something "exceptional" with his life. That's how he knew the Coast Guard was for him. "I saw the Coast Guard website and saw the guy jump out of the helicopter - I was sold immediately. That was exactly what I wanted to do," Carlson, who is stationed at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station San Diego, told Military Times. "Looking back I don't really know what was going through my head because I didn't know how to swim,' Carlson said. That's no longer an issue. Carlson, 30, who saved the lives of nine people suffering from hypothermia in a migrant vessel off the coast of Southern California, has been selected as Military Times' 2022 Coast Guardsman of the Year. In January 2021, Carlson was on duty when an alarm went off regarding a disabled panga boat more than 100 miles offshore. Carlson's team was initially diverted to another emergency, but later arrived on scene to provide overwatch for the disabled vessel in the event something went wrong while they awaited approval from their command to accept the mission. "These people are ... hypothermic and they're malnourished," Carlson said. "And what really got the ball rolling was the fact that they ... might be drifting into San Nicolas Island."
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